A few months ago I was sitting on a plane, having already perused SkyMall twice, convinced I had to have five quirky new gadgets that I didn’t need. But before things got carried away, I put SkyMall down and reached for the National Geographic, looking for something more interesting and perhaps enlightening.

And, even though I honestly didn’t expect it, that’s what I found.

Electricity. I take it for granted. When I flip the switch, I expect instant light. When I wake my computer up, I expect its screen to cast that cool hue across the room. When I plug in the coffee maker in the morning, I don’t even consider the possibility of there not being enough electricity to power up my morning brew.

But I have to admit, I have no idea how electricity gets from point A to point B (or where or what point A even is). All I know is that I pay the bill, so it better be there. Which brings up an important point. In this digital age, why do they still have to pay someone to go out to your house and visually read that meter? Doesn’t that seem a little… pre-internet?

The article brought up the fact that meters are still the same basic technology that existed in the 1920s. And the grid that supplies all of our power hasn’t changed much since the ’60s. And we are pushing it to its limits.

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Recently I read a article titled “How Green Is My Sneaker“. In short, it was about a software tool that has been developed to measure the carbon footprint of products—from the harvesting of raw materials to end-of-life disposal. Soon, an Eco Index is going to be instituted, meaning companies will display the eco-value of their products on their packaging. It will stand for a multitude of things—it gives the manufacturer a way to look at environment and human-rights impact when designing their product, and it will help shoppers compare how green different garments are. There are only a few companies that are taking the stand to show us their ratings, including Adidas, Brooks Sports, Columbia Sportswear, Levi Strauss, Nike, Patagonia, REI, Target, and Timberland. No luxury companies are involved, so trying to find the rating on that pair of Pradas probably will not happen any time soon.

Although this eco index will not be ready for the public just yet, it kicks off a new beginning towards an eco-fashion future. This is really exciting when you think about the fact that the average American population sends 23.8 billion pounds of clothing and textile waste to landfills each year, and according to the Textile Recycling Organization 95% of that is recyclable. I also was reading that ILO estimates that there are 128 million child labourers between the ages of 5 and 17 worldwide, 126 million of whom are engaged in hazardous work, and 73 million of whom are younger than 10. That statistic is ridiculous, I sit and think of my young nieces and nephews and it makes my stomach sick.

Yet, like anything, there are always drawbacks.

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I know it’s taboo to talk about winter in the middle of a Chicago summer, but I am going to break my own rule and do it. Last year my husband and I bought a quaint 1920′s tutor style house in Elgin, an older suburb of Chicago. We were first time home buyers, which meant not only did we have a new mortgage to pay every month, but we also had to purchase some bigger ticket items to help maintain our small slice of Americana. We went ahead and got the lawnmower (great deal off Craigslist) and several other items, but we decided to hold out on the snow blower. Needless to say 3 shovels and seemingly 1,000 snow days later, we caved and got our little 5.5 horse power Honda.
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One of our current interns, Dawn Bjork, is a lover of all things green and fashion related. We wanted her to write about her recent experience designing ecofashion clothing for the ReVamped show in Chicago. We think her work and ideas are quite amazing; please read about her participation and insight below!

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Just recently I was involved in a green fashion show called ReVamped. EarthShare of Illinois sponsored the event, and it was an amazing night! For those of you that do not know about EarthShare of Illinois, it is a non-profit organization that participates in public and private sector workplace giving campaigns on behalf of its member organizations. I was pretty amazed that I had never known until a few months ago about ESIL, seeing that they contribute to places that I visit and read about all the time, like Shedd Aquarium, Lincoln Park Zoo, National Wildlife Association, and more than 60 other organizations….they are pretty amazing.

The night was about celebrating and promoting the beauty of eco-conscious lifestyle practices. What was super amazing about the event was that it didn’t only promote some really cool fashion designers, it also awakened the guests to all sorts of green “things.” Read the rest of the entry >

Don’t get us wrong. This is a tragedy. Oil has now washed ashore in Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi, and residents in Florida have complained of the smell from the burns that took place. An estimated 20+ million gallons of crude have leaked thus far, and it’s showing no signs of stopping any time soon. Every effort to stop the leak so far has failed, including a 4-story dome/cap and the Top Kill procedure (for a recap of April’s events, check out our previous post). Two relief wells are being drilled, which are supposed to be the magic bullet. However, until they are done in a few months, there are few options left to stop the leak. (The latest effort is known as the “Lower Marine Riser Cap,” and it involves cutting and removing part of the well in order to install a cap on it. We’re all crossing our fingers that it will work, but not necessarily holding our breath as it’s just been delayed by a stuck blade.)

But we’ve all heard the bad news, and everyone wants the oil to stop leaking. We could play the blame game all day long. Actually, that’s something that we’d like to toss around. Is BP really responsible for what happened? Here’s an analogy to think about, one from another recent debate:

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